General Policy Committee discusses requiring notification of rent increases or lease termination

BY JARRED SPANOS, Alachua Chronicle correspondent

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Gainesville City Commission, sitting as the General Policy Committee, discussed a potential ordinance that would set a minimum notice period for rent increases or lease terminations at their February 9 meeting.

In an effort to increase stability for renters, the City is looking at ways to keep renters and landlords more protected and educated in regard to rent increases and lease terminations.

Katherine Pearson, a Policy Research Fellow, said, “According to the University of Florida’s Shimberg Center for Housing Studies’ 2022 Rental Market Study, Alachua County houses just over 33,000 renters; of these renters, 29% are classified as low-income or cost-burdened renters.” The Shimberg Center classifies a renter as cost-burdened when he or she pays at least 40% of their income on rent. The National Low Income Housing Coalition reports that in recent years, Florida has lost almost half a million affordable rental units, which created an affordable housing shortage. To combat this crisis, some municipalities have implemented and expanded the minimum notice period for lease termination and rent increases, according to Pearson.

Some of the notification requirements only apply to people who rent without a specific duration. Pearson said, “A tenancy without a specific duration entails that no predetermined end date of the lease has been set in either a verbal or written contract, and some notification requirements also establish a private right [of action].” A private right of action allows an individual to enforce rules in a court of law.

Florida statutes currently do not regulate notification requirements for rent increases, but Pearson said the Florida Residential Landlord and Tenant Act regulates requirements for lease terminations. Under the current statutes, landlords are required to give renters who pay annually 60 days’ notice, renters who pay quarterly 30 days’ notice, renters who pay monthly 15 days’ notice, and renters who pay weekly seven days’ notice before termination. A Florida Attorney General opinion asserts that the state will not move to preempt local legislation that does not violate or reduce the potency of state statutes.

The Gainesville City Commission passed a Rental Housing Ordinance in 2020, which created efficiency standards and landlord permits. The Rental Housing Ordinance was amended in 2022 to establish the Rental Housing Mediation Program, which will be implemented in the spring. Pearson told the commission that Gainesville is not alone because many cities and counties are facing similar issues, including Miami Beach, Miami-Dade County, Lake Worth Beach, and Tampa. Pearson said, “In addition to these four cities and counties, there are other cities and counties that have legislation of this type.”

All four of the cities require notice when a 5% rent increase is introduced. In Miami-Dade and Lake Worth Beach, a 60-day notice is required before a lease is terminated. This could be enforced in court because both the tenant and landlord have a private right of action under their ordinances.

Advantages and disadvantages

A minimum notification period, according to Pearson, “provides tenants with time to find new sources of income to pay for increased rent or find new housing; could decrease eviction rates and even homelessness, preventing the likelihood tenants are blindsided by rent increases or lease termination; could reduce stress level; and if rental assistance is available, a minimum notification period could provide tenants with more time to successfully complete the application process.”

Pearson said one disadvantage of the policy would be that the implementation of notice requirements may require educational information to be distributed to tenants, which could cost time and money. She said the policy could also damage relationships between the City of Gainesville and local landlords. “Additionally, increased notice requirements for lease terminations could potentially decrease the ability for tenants to end the lease with shorter notice, which some tenants may disagree with or oppose,” said Pearson.

Another potential disadvantage is that the City might need to establish a reporting function fit to deal with complaints of this matter, which come at a cost. Pearson added, “Alternately, the City could write legislation establishing a private right for citizens to take violators to court; however, cost-burdened and low-income tenants may be disadvantaged by this option if they lack the financial or legal resources.”

Commission discussion

Commissioner Reina Saco said she originally became aware of this in Miami-Dade, “back in the fall… when more people were making use of it.” Renters often lease under a mutual understanding with their landlords, she said. “It is very much a gentlemen’s agreement, and there is nothing in writing, and there are no protections beyond the little that the statute gives at the state level.” Saco said, “I think we can all agree 15 days [for a month-to-month renter] is not enough to pack up our homes, let alone find a new place and make all of the arrangements necessary.” The implementation would provide a buffer, according to Saco.

Commissioner Casey Willits said, “This is something–the moment I got on the commission, I was ready; once I learned about the research potential, I wanted to start.” 60% of people in the City of Gainesville are renters, and Willits said, “In my district, it is closer to 90%, and I can’t imagine us not looking at this proposal seriously, and I certainly hope it is something that we can push all the way through and put before the commission.”

Commissioner Bryan Eastman said people are often at the whim of their landlord: “A lot of the time you are on these month-to-month leases, with the hope that the landlord will eventually kick you out and bring someone else in, and there has to be some kind of protection, particularly as you hear more and more sad stories from the few areas that we still have who are, you know, 50% below AMI.”

Commissioner Ed Book questioned the effectiveness of the ordinances that were given as examples, due to their recent implementation. Saco said, “It is new, but it seems to be, from folks who have been interviewed and from news reports – the awareness helps almost as a watchdog.” Even if it is not used, the notification could act as a deterrent, Saco said.

Alachua County Labor Coalition supports the proposal

The Alachua County Labor Coalition (ACLC) announced Thursday that they had adopted a position in support of this, said Bobby Mermer, ACLC Coordinator. “We believe 60 days is a nice sweet spot,” said Mermer. He said renters could use the 60 days to look at their finances and determine if their budget can afford an increase. Too much time can create pressure on the tenant to agree to an increase that may not make sense. Mermer said, “I think the idea of going through the mediation program to provide tenants with channels in which they seek recourses to help them assert their private right of action is a very good start. However, I would like to see the City either put together or contract out a brochure on how to assert your private right of action as a pro se litigant.”

Private action vs. penalties

Saco favored enabling the City to fine landlords who violate the ordinance instead of just having a right to private action, but added, “I don’t want to have an extra chore put on our rental housing division or on housing or on sustainable development if they are not at capacity to maintain,” said Saco. She wanted to know if there were funds available and add that provision to the ordinance as a placeholder.

Interim Policy Oversight Administrator Morgan Spicer said a staff working group would have the opportunity to further adjust some of those concerns before they come back to the commission.

Mayor Harvey Ward said, “As we move forward, adding things to our existing Rights for Renter’s packages, I would really like us to consider how we might, as an organization, be helpful to renters and landlords in understanding what they are getting into.” Ward emphasized the lack of sophistication renters and landlords have when they’re just starting out. He said that while bigger landlords have a pretty good process for educating tenants, newer landlords may not do as good a job. “There’s got to be some organization that could, on a two to three times a year basis, offer some education,” said Ward.

Motion passes unanimously

The motion, which passed unanimously, was to ask staff to prepare an ordinance requiring a 60-day notification for an increase in rent above 5% or termination of leases without a specific duration and to look at options for enforcement; the second component of the motion was to ask staff to explore the creation of educational materials about all the options for renter protections and how tenants may exercise those rights.